DUCKS WON TITLE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY NOW QUESTIONS SURROUND SELANNE, GIGUERE.Byline: ELLIOTT TEAFORD Staff Writer ANAHEIM -- In the final analysis, the Ducks' five-game victory over the Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (French: Les Sénateurs d'Ottawa) are a professional men's hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). in the Stanley Cup Stanley Cup: see hockey, ice. Stanley Cup Trophy awarded annually to the winning team of the National Hockey League championship. Named for its donor, the Canadian governor-general Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston Finals was a victory for old-time hockey Old-time hockey is a term used by sportscasters and fans of the sport of ice hockey whenever the on-ice action degenerates into a brawl or rough play. The term comes from the 1977 motion picture Slap Shot in which player-coach Reggie "Reg" Dunlop (played by Paul Newman) . The Ducks were tougher than a night in jail, to steal a line from general manager Brian Burke For the hockey executive, see . Brian Thomas Burke (born in Perth, 25 February 1947) was premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988. In 1994, Burke was imprisoned for seven months after being convicted of rorting travel expenses. . He used it to describe veteran enforcer Brad May Brad May (born November 29, 1971 in Toronto, Ontario), is a ice hockey left winger currently playing for the NHL's Anaheim Ducks. He played his rep minor hockey in Markham, Ontario. One year he played alongside Keith Primeau in 1982. after acquiring him Feb. 27 from the Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1996 and 2001. . But it fit all the Ducks in all manner of ways. Other teams boasted more skilled players, more veteran players or more young players. Some teams had better-known stars. But no other team had quite the mix of talent, grit, experience and youthful exuberance. It helped the Ducks overcome their penchant for taking ill-advised penalties. It also aided them when they were forced to play without standout defenseman Chris Pronger Christopher Robert Pronger (born October 10, 1974, in Dryden, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the NHL's Anaheim Ducks (2006–present). after he earned a pair of one-game suspensions for two bad hits. What's more, when Chris Kunitz Chris Kunitz (born September 26, 1979 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a professional ice hockey left wing who currently plays for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. Career Minors went out of the lineup because of a broken bone in his right hand last month, center Todd Marchant Todd Marchant (born August 12, 1973 in Buffalo, New York, U.S.) is a National Hockey League center who is currently playing for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. He has played nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and one season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as AHL games with moved from the fourth line to the top line to replace him on left wing. Marchant had just returned from having hernia surgery that sidelined him for the first two rounds of the playoffs. Kunitz then returned for the Finals only to suffer an abdominal bruise in Game 3 against the Senators. He was back on the ice for the Ducks' 6-2 rout of the Senators in Game 5 on Wednesday night, however. Pronger, who was widely criticized for his hits on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom and Ottawa's Dean McAmmond  This article or section reads like a and may need a .Please help [ to improve this article] to make it in tone and meet Wikipedia's . , absorbed a tough check in the early minutes of Game 5 and suffered a separated shoulder. Pronger spent 10 minutes in the dressing room before returning to play. The examples go on and on. The Ducks weren't built to fail, they were built to win. Burke made it happen by acquiring Pronger in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers last summer, after Pronger and the Oilers halted the Ducks' march to the Cup with a five-game victory in the Western Conference finals. "I knew last season we had all the tools," veteran winger Teemu Selanne said, "but when I heard the phone ringing last summer and they said we just got Chris Pronger, I knew that we could win it all." Burke has another busy offseason ahead of him, starting with re-signing Selanne and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. They are eligible to become free agents and might have played their final games for the Ducks. Selanne, 36, might ride off into the sunset with the Stanley Cup, or at least into retirement on any number of Orange County golf courses. He said he would take a few days to decide whether to return to the ice or call it a career. "There's some big decisions coming, but now it's time to party," he said. Giguere might be too pricey for Burke to fit into the team's budget. Owners Henry and Susan Samueli have yet to turn a profit after two seasons, and the Ducks' payroll probably won't be as high as the NHL's $48-million salary cap. "I'd like to re-sign here," said Giguere, whose salary could zoom from $4 million to $8 million or more. "Is it going to happen? I don't have a crystal ball." Losing either Selanne or Giguere would be a tough blow for Burke, but the team's core appears set for the next few seasons. Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 42 times to 36 players since the 1964-65 NHL season. winner as the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. of the playoffs, will be back to torment opposing forwards. The Kid Line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner grew up during the playoffs, eclipsing the Ducks' top line of Kunitz, Selanne and Andy McDonald after Kunitz's hand injury. It was another example of the club's depth and why the selection of the Conn Smythe winner was such a toss-up. Niedermayer was named the MVP, but there were other candidates, including checking-line center Samuel Pahlsson. "We said we would only be as good as our weakest player and our weakest contribution," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We didn't get any weak contributions. ... We were fortunate that people stepped up on different days, in different occasions, and we got the job done." elliott.teaford@dailybreeze.com (310) 540-4201 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, top, joins Rob and Scott Niedermayer to pose with the Stanley Cup after Wednesday's win. Mark Avery/Associated Press |
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